Lindgren, 51, appeared before Northampton County Judge Michael Koury to be arraigned on charges of murder, attempted murder, recklessly endangering another person, aggravated assault and simple assault.

Lindgren appeared to chew on his tongue and fidget in his seat throughout the hearing while gazing at Koury. After the judge spelled out the charges against him at length, Lindgren said in a raspy voice that he understood the nature of the charges.

Noting the amount of work awaiting the defense, Koury said the scheduled
trial date of April 9 would be impossible. He asked Assistant District Attorney Richard Pepper
and defense attorney Dwight Danser to appear before him March 1 to arrange for a new timetable.

Police say Lindgren kicked and punched his elderly parents in a savage assault Aug. 21 in their home at 209 E. Wall St. in Bethlehem. Police arrived at the home after receiving an alarm system alert at 12:23 a.m. and found Shirley and J. Ralph Lindren inside, unconscious and clinging to life.

Michael Lindgren was leaving as police arrived; police said he had blood on his hands and shoes.

The elder Lindgrens were hospitalized due to their severe injuries, including bleeding on the brain. Shirley Lindgren, 77, died of her injuries a day later. Ralph Lindgren, now 79, survived and told police he remembers waking to the alarm and finding his son agitated and in the house. Police testified at an earlier court appearance that Ralph Lindgren remembered his son approach him in a menacing manner, but nothing beyond that.

About a half hour before the alleged attack, Michael Lindgren turned up at the Bethlehem Police Department extremely agitated and demanded to speak to his sister in Maryland. Police called paramedics, but Lindren left before emergency medical technicians arrived and before the officer could locate his sister's phone number.

Danser told Koury that Michael Lindgren recently returned to Northampton County Prison after a stay at Torrance State Hospital, a public psychiatric hospital. Lindgren has a lengthy history of mental health problems, and Danser said he was not entirely sure what he was being treated for at Torrance. Danser added a mental health evaluation of his client has been scheduled but not conducted.

Danser notified the court he would look to suppress statements his client made to police after he was taken into custody and hospitalized. Police testified at a prior hearing that Michael Lindgren was rambling the entire time, making comments such as, "I had to do it. I’m completely insane. They took everything from me."